RADHIKA AGARWAL vs UNION OF INDIA AND OTHERS

Bench: 3 — Sanjiv Khanna, M.M. Sundresh, Bela M. Trivedi

In Brief

The Supreme Court upheld the constitutional validity of the arrest powers granted to customs and GST officers under the Customs Act and GST Acts. The Court held that amendments made in 2012, 2013, and 2019 to the Customs Act, which designate certain offences as cognizable, are valid. Customs officers may arrest without warrant for cognizable offences. The Court clarified that Parliament has authority under Article 246-A to enact laws on GST and ancillary powers to arrest for tax evasion. However, such arrests must comply with statutory safeguards: officers must inform arrestees of grounds, maintain duly paginated diaries, allow meeting with advocates during interrogation, and inform nominees of arrest. Writ petitions challenging the constitutional validity were dismissed.

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Criminal Procedure Customs Law Goods and Services Tax (GST) Constitutional Law Power of Arrest Non-Cognizable Offences Tax Evasion Arrest Safeguards Article 246-A Legislative Competence

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